Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to spectroscopic and other instrumentations and methods relying at least in part on ambient light as a light source for enabling biological and chemical sensing capable of detecting minute quantities of biological or chemical substances.
Description of the Related Art
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed in a patent(s) originating from this application.
Spectrometers measure properties of light over a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Spectrometers usually employ a source of electromagnetic energy, and various optical devices such as mirrors and gratings as optical filters for dispersing the light to the detector, as well as a detector to detect the light intensity as a function of wavelength. Spectrometers are used to detect and quantify the characteristics or concentration of a physical, chemical or biological target object. Medical diagnostic machines using optical spectrometers allow for characterization of chemical and biological information that can be used to detect disease, track associated health markers, or identify dangerous fluid borne chemicals, using only small amounts of blood, urine, saliva, or other physical specimen. However, widespread adoption of this technology has been limited in part due to the cost and size of spectrometer equipment.
One of the more expensive components of a spectroscope can be the light source, which is typically a laser, LED, or broadband light source. In addition to component cost, light sources require substantial amounts of power to run, can be subject to drift in light intensity and spectral properties over time, and can be difficult to assemble or replace. Light sources are a particular problem for portable or disposable spectrometers, which require low power or low cost components for commercial adoption.